AYS Daily Digest 22/07/2019 –Ventimiglia: 18,000 people returned to Italy in 12 months
Updates on mass deportations from Syria to Turkey /// Raids against people on the move in Nador, Morocco /// Activist found not guilty in Como, Italy /// Increase in ID checks in Athens, Greece ///
Feature story — Ventimiglia : 18,000 People Pushed Back in 12 months
Progetto 20k report that every day, between 25 and 50 people are pushed back from the French border to Ventimigila.
From our border outpost in Ponte San Luigi we recorded 897 people being pushed back in June alone.
They also give information about the number of illegal, yet frequent, practices of the French border police:
Among them there were 40 women, 6 children and 16 unaccompanied minors. Their age is changed [by the police at the border], or they are registered as children of other people from the same country, even if they are not. They arrive to our outpost after having being held for 10, 12, up to 15 hours in containers, without food or water. […] There are not many people coming from the recent arrivals in the Central Med. There are people being removed from Italian reception centres, there are the victims of the [so-called] Salvini laws, still holding on to their humanitarian residence permit — now abolished and no longer renewable — trying to leave the country before the expiry date. Some are asylum seekers in France, expelled for no valid legal reason. Others from France, Germany, Switzerland, are victims of the Dublin treaty. We also met people who have lived in Europe for 5 to 10 years, who were expelled from France with some ‘tricks’, considered as new arrivals.
According to Interior ministerial data, 18,125 people were returned to Italy during the last 12 months by French Authorities at the Ventimiglia border, media reports.
This border, along with many others, are becoming more and more like a laboratory in which to experiment new levels of abuse, brutality, racism and human rights infringements.
Yet still, Progetto 20K continues; the border is far from being closed. The numbers of the Red Cross run ‘campo Roja’ in Ventimiglia have been the same for months; between 180 and 200. “Almost every day 20 people arrive in Ventimiglia and 20 people leave”.
In June, two private buses were hired by Italian authorities to forcefully transfer 25 people to the Taranto hot-spot, 1,000 km south of Ventimiglia. Progetto 20k witnessed the police violence towards those who refused to board the bus:
An asylum seeker who should not have been taken on the bus protested against what was happening to his friends. That was enough for him to be taken on the bus and transferred to Taranto.
The police admitted their error once they were already in the south and, allegedly, paid the train ticket for the man to go back to Ventimiglia. He has not been seen since.
TURKEY
As we reported in our last digest, Turkey is apparently starting mass deportations back to Syria.
A Syrian man living in Istanbul released his story on social media:
“I was captured in Aksaray Istanbul during grocery shopping only for being Syrian, I left my Protection card at home (kimlik) which is less than 15 minutes away from the place I was took from, the police refused to wait 15 minutes for my family to bring it they put me right away in the bus with many others with no idea about the destination.
After the bus was full they took us to Tuzla police station, we’ve been told we’re gonna be sent to Hatay, not to Syria.
We’ve all been forced to sign a “willingly leaving back to Syria” document which we were not even allowed to read the details written in it. I saw many cases were people got beaten up for not signing it.
I’m a student in Istanbul and I’m registered as a refugee also in Istanbul even though I got deported to Idleb. I’m not the only one, there was a lot of other people under the temporary protection in Turkey and got deported.
During the 19 hour trip to Idleb, we got assaulted verbally and physically and got beaten up by the Turkish security/police forces in the police stations and in the bus, even at the Syrian Turkish borders.
all the way there we’ve been served only one piece of bread each and water once every 6 hours and was very little amount, also we were allowed 20 seconds only to go to toilets and back.
We couldn’t contact anyone as our phones were confiscated and we were all surprised that we’ve been taken to Salqin Idleb Syria through the “friendship” border crossing point.”
Also, researcher Asaad Hanna, has confirmed that people are being forced to sign ‘voluntary return’ papers without being able to read them.
All of this is happening, just a few days after the allocation of further € 1.41 billion from the European Commission to Turkey, ensuring EU support to the country’s migration policy. According to a statement released from the Commission, the program will focus on the areas of health, protection, socio-economic support and municipal infrastructure. This brings the total amount already allocated for Turkey to € 5.6 billion.
A long-read on the recent developments in Turkey was published by libcom, read it HERE.
MOROCCO
Raids in Migrant Camps in the Nador Region
AMDH Nador report about frequent raids by authorities in migrant camps in Nador. Often, for fear of being arrested by the auxiliary forces, migrant women flee in very rugged terrain, which can cause wounds to their feet.
The Moroccan authorities must at least respect their laws that prohibits the arrest and expulsion of pregnant women and children.
SEA
Child Deaths at Europe’s Borders
The Migration Data Portal reports that 1593 children died crossing borders between 2014 and 2018. 678 of these children lost their lives in the Mediterranean. The world’s deadliest border for children is the gateway to Europe.
Given the nature of the border regions, it is also likely that actual numbers of deaths are higher. The truth is, we will never know exactly how many young people’s lives have been taken from them.
Too Little Too Late — Joint Statement from IOM and UN
In their joint statement, IOM and the UN, with the support of 14 European states, have come up with some truly ground breaking ideas — people should not be returned to Libya, apparently it’s dangerous for people to be forceably detained there, while the country is in the middle of a civil war. They’ve also realised that SAR missions are important and are thinking of starting their own EU one, which is great, we wonder how many people will die while they plan it and NGO vessels are still prevented from carrying out their work?
If their concern was genuinely about Libya, Libyans, and people of other nationalities present in the country, and not solely driven by a desire to curb migration to the EU, all of this would be much more palatable. The truth is, they hoped the war in Libya would end sooner, that the Italy/ Libya deal would stand and that the problem of humans seeking shelter and freedom would simply go away. It didn’t and now they’re saying what activists have been saying all along. The difference? The activists and people in solidarity who have worked to prevent loss of life at borders can, and often do, face imprisonment. The UN, IOM and EU leaders will not.
GREECE
The Situation in Kos
Messages were recently sent from Kos camp:
“We are suffering here in kos camp.. We are in detention for 3 months now without medication and good food.. We need freedom. We are in depression now.. We are committing suicide here. We need freedom. They have reject all of us here in this camp and they still detained us.”
“We are in detention we don’t have any access to talk to NGO’S. instead they keep us in detention here in kos. Let them send us back to our country. We prefer dying in our country instead dying here in detention center in Greece kos camp”
Local Greek media ‘revealed’ that German police forces operate ID checks at Greek airports to prevent asylum seekers from travelling. As Manos Moschopoulos states, this is far from a new implementation, but represents the normality within the Schengen area since the closure of internal borders.
Intensification of ID Checks in Athens
No Borders report about the intensification of ID checks in Athens, targeting refugees and asylum seekers, especially in the areas of Victoria, Acharnon, Patission, and Pireus.
ITALY
Jacopo Mascheroni Found Not Guilty in Como
In 2016 Jacopo had started the solidarity info-point in Como, to help those people on the move pushed back from the Swiss border, a few miles away. He was charged by local authorities for having ignored an order to leave town and participated in an “unauthorised demonstration”, expressing solidarity with people on the move.
Open migration report that on June 24th, he was found not guilty. The judge recognised that no law was broken by the young, Italian, solidarian.
Read more HERE.
SPAIN
More Details Emerge Around the Death of a Young Man in Valencia.
Marouane Abouobaida was found dead in the isolation cell of the Centre for Internment for Foreigners (CIE) of València on July 15th, he was only 23 years-old. Although his suicide was recorded on the security cameras of the centre, the police took 19 minutes to notice, according to the conclusions of the investigation, which was opened by the Police Headquarters of Valencia. He had also clearly been badly beaten and had not received adequate medical treatment. Read more here.
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Italian volunteer Lorena Fornasir talked with a mother and her 4 daughters, aged between 4 and18, held in a cage in Kazanci, Bosnia, waiting to be sent back to Montenegro for the third time.
The inhumane and unthinkable practice of keeping people inside cage-like (however ‘temporary’) constructions, which we have unfortunately seen before — in Croatia, back then at this exact same place where these photos are now being taken — still continues. The standards they are supposedly adhearing to, seem to be in line with the EU’s rules and regulations. Thus, the question arises; what to dismantle — the cages, or rather, the EU rules and regulations that are clearly enabling and allowing this to happen.
How to Reach Bihac from Tuzla
Bosnian volunteers have sent an update regarding new possibilities of reaching Bihać from Tuzla, unlike the usual route going through Sarajevo. People on the move in Bosnia and Herzegovina can now ride on board the train connecting Tuzla and Bihać, but they must first obtain the document from the Foreigners’ Office, and be registered there. The ticket price for groups of more than 6 people is 20 KM (The regular price for the train is 29.50 KM). This train connection goes via Doboj, where they change trains for Bihać. The illegal, but consistent, practice of taking people off the trains and buses at the entrance to the Una-Sana canton, however, is still present and from that point onward, people must walk. The train leaves Tuzla at 17:09hr (5:09 p.m.), and arrives in Bihać at 00:22hr (12:22 a.m.). In the other direction, it leaves Bihać at 02:03h (2:30 a.m.) and arrives in Tuzla at 09:09h (9:09 a.m.).
Call For donations
Austrian solidarity organisation Graz:SpendenKonvoi is preparing a ‘Convoy to Bosnia’ for mid-August. They are fundraising and asking for donations. Check out HERE to learn about how to help.
SLOVENIA
On Friday the 19th of July, 122 people on the move were found in the area of Koper. Border Violence Monitor and local media report that Slovenia has now deployed 35 army troops to join their police near the town, which is close to Slovenia’s border with Croatia and Italy. They will also employ surveillance devices, as well as armoured vehicles.
Slovenia’s Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar has the support of Matteo Salvini in his endeavours to militarise Slovenia’s borders and continue breaking international law.
GERMANY
Pregnant Woman Refused Ambulance and Loses Her Baby
Last month a young couple lost their baby while staying in a first reception centre. Even though the woman was in excruciating pain, security services refused to call an ambulance for her. As the couple did not have their own phone, they had to walk and take a tram for the 3 km journey to the hospital. When the young woman finally gave birth the baby was already dead. If it is discovered that the baby’s life could have been saved had the ambulance been called, then the case will be one of negligent homicide.
Read more here.
Deportation Prevention
Refugee Black Box report on the deportation of Mheddin Saho from Munich to Barcelona under the Dublin agreement. The pilot refused to take him to Barcelona after there was a protest against his deportation and he is now waiting for a judge’s decision at 15:50 on his case. It is believed he is still being held in the Airport.
Mheddin is from Syria and is blind, yet despite his disability he has been accepted on to a Masters course at LMU. If another flight cannot be found, he is likely to be placed in detention, an incredible waste of time and resources in order to harass a young man trying to get on with life in incredibly difficult circumstances while continuing to overload the asylum system of a reception country. Great work Germany.
Cases Against Church Asylum
In another case of deportation an Evangelical Pastor and a refugee from Afghanistan have been convicted and fined in the Bavarian City of Immenstadt. In April 2018, thanks to the help of the Protestant parish couple Marlies and Ulrich Gampert, 22-year-old Reza Jafari received refuge in their church and waited there over a year to prevent his immediate deportation. Media articles link the current criminalisation of asylum granting to Nazi-era policies and decry the unnecessary risk to life created by returning people at risk to Afghanistan.
There is a petition against his deportation and a crowdfunder for his case.
Deportation Alert
According to ECADA, there is currently a high risk of arrest and detention in Bavaria. If you are concerned about your situation check their page for more information and contact a lawyer.
FRANCE
La Cimade Pull Out of Detention Support
La Cimade is withdrawing from the administrative detention centre of Mesnil-Amelot according to an interview with their Secretary General, Cyrille de Billy, in local media. It is the largest detention centre in France, housing many pregnant women and children, as well as people with severe mental health problems, a number of who have self-harmed and/ or have attempted suicide.
“In recent days, they have had to face several suicide attempts: a man threatened to throw himself from one wall, another took drugs in large quantities, another still put a barbed wire around his neck.”
They have ceased their work because their employees can no longer cope with working in this environment and they call upon the French Government to improve conditions and properly assess and care for those with mental health problems.
Solidarity Housing Initiative for Children in Lille
Utopia 56 have set up a network of citizen and solidarity accommodation for homeless children in Lille.
“Currently in Lille, dozens of foreign minors [who] arrived alone in France are left to their own devices. They have no accommodation, financial assistance or schooling offered by the competent authorities.”
There is a meeting on Tuesday, July 23rd at 7pm at the Café Citoyen (address 7 place du Vieux Marché aux Chevaux, Lille). If you can support the programme and host a young person please attend.
To register: please send an email to the address utopia56.lille@gmail.com
Utopia 56 Are Also Looking for Volunteers over the Summer.
BELGIUM
We are pleased to report some positive news. Local media have highlighted the efforts of a couple from Liege, who have set up a little campsite in their garden, which offers respite to people on the move. Read more HERE (in French).
EU
EASO and Frontex Strenghten Their Partnership
The European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) said that The European Asylum Support Office (EASO) and The European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), have strengthened their cooperation in their respective work on border control, as well as asylum and migration management, by signing an updated cooperation plan. The document will govern their joint work in the areas of operational cooperation, information and analysis, capacity building and horizontal cooperation. The two agencies will work together on projects such as the set-up and implementation of the Migration Management Support Teams (MMST).
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